INNOKEY 4.0

Industry 4.0 is a characteristic element of the high tech strategy from the federal government, which has set the goal to secure Germany’s future as an industry location by strengthening the competitiveness of the German industry in comparison with other countries. With various funding initiatives from the federal government as elements of the high tech strategy, it wants to support companies in taking up challenges resulting from industry 4.0 and actively shaping their future. However, it is not enough to solely support research and development (R&D) activities in order to ensure that companies have a sustainable future. It is essential that the development solutions are also transferred into practical applications and quickly implemented on a broad scale. This is currently a major challenge for research and development partners.

In cooperation with acatech the BMWi funded study INNOKEY 4.0 investigated the transfer of results from research projects using examples from the automotive logistics. The focus was on influencing factors on projects, which were particularly impeding or favoring the transfer. Within the scope of the project, experts have been interviewed. They have often attributed the transfer success to the specifications of the proposal and the project implementation especially with regard to the structure of the consortium. The organization of partners of the consortium as well as the environment and measures taken were mentioned as drivers or obstacles less frequently. Five target criteria were derived from the challenges identified in the surveys for a transfer-oriented research:

Holistic approach

Speed

Changeability

Market orientation

Cost-effectiveness

The findings of the INNOKEY 4.0 study were converted into recommendations for action for a transfer-oriented R&D. These recommendations address representatives of politics, companies and education providers and are mutually dependent. In addition, recommendations for the project management of R&D projects were developed and converted into a procedure model. This model supports R&D partners in securing the success of the transfer of R&D results into application.